


Like Water Dripping into the Ocean // We are Forever

by Adel Mortescryche (Mortescryche)



Series: KHR Rare Pair Week 2018 [7]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Angst, Attempt at Humor, BAMF Sawada Nana, Codependency, Dying Will Flames, Dysfunctional Relationships, F/F, F/M, Feel Very Sorry for Lal Mirch, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friendship, It doesn't stop her from being awesome, Multi, Nana is a Mist Flame User, Nana is also probably mildly Overpowered, Nana's ability to interact with people is just a bit messed up, Pre-Canon, She's Tsuna's Mom ofc she's badass, So much flirting, Some Romance, Team as Family, Unconventional Uses for Dying Will Flames, Women Being Awesome, it's balanced by her knowing nothing about the mafia and being careful, platonically sharing a bed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-06-14 02:04:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15378333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mortescryche/pseuds/Adel%20Mortescryche
Summary: There was a women lying unconscious in the alley behind the café.Nana blinked down at her bemusedly, both hands wrapped tight around the neck of a heavy trash bag. When she didn’t make any sounds or move, Nana shrugged, and made her way over to the trash bin, hauling the bag up and over into it.She was still in the same spot, sitting up against a wall, by the time Nana made it back to her, so Nana crouched down, and poked her in the cheek, peering down into her pretty face curiously.Later, she admitted to herself, wouldn’t it be more of an adventure if she didn’t tell anyone, and just helped the woman out on her own? Yes, yes it would. So she grinned, and crouched down in front of the woman and carefully lifted her onto her back.---Nana was used to living life on her own, and on her own terms. Completely alone save for the few strays she took in when she got bored. Lal Mirch was something unexpected, though, and blew her otherwise normal life to smithereens. Namimori and Sawada Iemitsu weren't much better.What was a quiet Mist user minding her own business to do?Have fun with it and run wild, of course.





	1. Chapter 1

There was a women lying unconscious in the alley behind the café.

Nana blinked down at her bemusedly, both hands wrapped tight around the neck of a heavy trash bag. When she didn’t make any sounds or move, Nana shrugged, and made her way over to the trash bin, hauling the bag up and over into it.

She was still in the same spot, sitting up against a wall, by the time Nana made it back to her, so Nana crouched down, and poked her in the cheek, peering down into her pretty face curiously.

She didn’t open her eyes.

Nana sighed, and straightened, neatly dusting off her skirt and fluffing out it’s frilly under layers, before reaching out and weaving indigo mist around the woman’s form. A twist in the image, shifting perception just a bit, and suddenly there was nothing visible where she’d been lying except for the wall.

Nana nodded to herself, and made it back into the café, before the Head Maid could get angry with her.

*

It wasn’t until closing that Nana remembered the woman again, and made excuses to the rest of the girls who were heading out for dinner together, and maybe karaoke. They waved and left, well used to her by now. Nana kept smiling until they were out of sight, then shut the door and locked up before heading to the alley out back.

She didn’t even need to test the threads of mist layered where she’d left them, untouched. The woman hadn’t moved since Nana had thrown out the trash earlier on.

Now frowning, she wondered if she shouldn’t contact the police, or maybe a hospital.

Then again, she admitted to herself, while untangling the mist and letting it disperse, wouldn’t it be more of an adventure if she _didn’t_ tell anyone, and just helped the woman out on her own? Yes, yes it would. So she grinned, and crouched down in front of the woman and carefully lifted her onto her back.

She carried her back into the café because Nana still hadn’t had the chance to change out of her maid outfit, or check all the windows to make sure things were closed and locked up properly.

It didn’t take her long to clear up and change. The woman continued to remain unconscious all the way through. Once Nana was done changing into a pair of sweatpants and a loose tee, she dragged on her hoodie and bundled a scarf around her throat, protecting herself from the chilly breeze.

It didn’t take too long for her to ease the woman onto her back, and tuck her legs around Nana’s middle. The dead weight made it just a bit awkward, but Nana could handle that.

She’d handled worse.

It was the matter of seconds to weave tendrils around the woman on her back, making her look like a heavy backpack. She stepped out of the store, ducking so the woman’s head didn’t hit the top of the doorjamb, and then turned to lock the door. She wove a mist arm, sticking out of her shoulder, so she didn’t have to let go of the woman’s leg, proceeded to stick the fingers of that arm in her pocket to fish out the keys, and neatly lock the door.

Dispersing her extra arm, she turned to start walking towards the train station. Hopefully the woman wouldn’t wake up before she reached home – Nana could easily weave an illusion to hide them from view during the discussion, but she’d prefer to avoid having a possible fight on a train or in the streets. And needing to explain why she’d just picked up an unconscious woman and started walking would be… fun?

It _could_ be fun. Then again, it would also be a bother, and Nana was looking forward to getting home and having a nice long soak in the bath.

So she hitched up her cargo, and began walking.

*

The woman didn’t wake up.

Nana gently toppled her onto her bed, once she’d reached home, figuring that was that until the woman actually woke up. She was nice enough to get her a blanket, though, so she didn’t get cold. Because Nana’s apartment was a bitch, with cold air sneaking in through the spaces underneath the shutters. It wasn’t like she could bundle the woman under her beloved kotatsu. No matter how cozy that would be if the woman had been awake.

So a normal blanket it was, until the woman managed to wake up. Nana had decided during her train ride to give it till the morning – and if the woman didn’t wake up, she would change her face so she looked even more unassuming than usual and drop the woman off at the hospital as someone she’d found lying around.

She prepared herself for that bath, got out a change of clothes and set off for the bathroom.

*

When Nana finally stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in her underclothes and drying off her long hair, she found the woman she’d rescued from the alley waiting for her right outside the door, with a gun pointed right in her face.

Nana didn’t do much more than blink, before smiling brightly.

“You’re awake! That’s wonderful. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I was thinking of brewing a mug of tea for myself, so…”

The gun actually sagged in the woman’s grip, and Nana found herself being blinked at in utter bemusement.

“I was about to ask you who you are, but you couldn’t be working for the people after me if you’re standing there offering me _tea_.” She said, sounding bemused.

Nana’s smile tugged up into a sly grin.

“Should I have said tea, coffee or me? Teehee?” She offered, tilting her face to the side cutely, right into the towel she had held up against her head to blot the water from her shower.

The woman blinked, and laughed right in her face.

Nana snickered, and slung the towel around her neck, stretching comfortably.

“Just give me five minutes; I’ll get some clothes on and start up the kettle.”

“Sure, sure. Mind if I come with you? You’re a barrel of laughs, but I don’t think I’m willing to trust you as far as I can throw you quite yet.”

“Is that way of calling me a light weight?” Nana asked coyly, and got another bemused blink for her troubles.

“…that’s. Really not the way that phrase should be used. But you’re definitely _light_ ,” the woman replied. “I could throw you pretty far if I put my mind to it.”

“I noticed,” Nana said dreamily, and the woman coughed, sounding like she was trying not to laugh.

Changing with someone watching wasn’t quite as Nana expected it would be. For one, the woman’s presence in her room had a clinical air to it that Nana appreciated. For another… Nana was very tempted to weave mist strands in the air to hide her true body, for the comfort if nothing else, but something told her that the woman would _know_ if she did anything of the sort.

That intuition kept Nana happily distracted until she had her clothes on and had led the way to the kitchen, neatly filling her little water kettle and setting it on the stove.

“Oh, I’m Nana, by the way! Nice to meet you.” She said, glancing over her shoulder at where the woman was leaning against the doorjamb, watching her every move carefully.

Her words earned her an easy nod and a half smile.

“Lal. Nice to meet you. I think.”

“Hush, it’s _definitely_ a nice thing. What _were_ you doing in that alley, anyway?”

“None of your business,” Lal replied, and Nana had to pout.

Lal just rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

“And why exactly did you bring me home from the alley I’d been hiding in?”

“…I don’t suppose saying it’s none of your business or that you were really pretty will work, will they.”

Lal just stared her down making Nana sigh, firing up the stove and turning away from it, then leaning against the counter and crossing her arms defensively.

“I don’t have a real reason,” she said. “You looked interesting, and like you could use the help, and I had a bed I could offer up, so why not?”

The incredulous look Lal shot at her made Nana laugh, because she couldn’t help herself.

“You’d might as well just drink your tea and tell me what you’d like for dinner, Lal. You look like you could use a few good meals in you – and there’s nothing I want in return, anyway, other than the company.”

Lal looked like she wanted to protest, but something about Nana’s words made her pause, thankfully. So Nana just gave her another sweet smile, and turned her attention back to her kettle, pointedly looking away until Lal sighed and walked back out of the kitchen.

As she poured the hot water over onto the teabags, letting the smell as it steeped waft over her, Nana wondered absently if she should knock the other woman out and drop her back into that alleyway. The mist threads would make it _easy_. Lal seemed a bit more dangerous than the other people Nana had brought into her home to give them a place to stay for the night, before, but Nana knew how to take care of herself. She always had.

Lal was already curled up under the kotatsu, by the time Nana stepped out with the tea for them both. She accepted her _yunomi_ when a nod of thanks, sipping from it and sighing.

“I just had tea bags,” Nana confessed, and Lal shrugged lightly.

“It’s still warm, and tastes good. I’m willing to stifle my inner tea snob and say this is delicious.”

“Thank goodness, however would I have borne the shame of being judged unworthy by your inner tea snob,” Nana teased, gently, and Lal gave a snort of laughter in response.

For all the tension that Lal’s suspicions had caused in the kitchen, the silence that rested between them while they drank their tea was calm. When they were done, Lal set her cup back down, and pushed herself back to her feet.

“Thank you for the tea,” she said. “I’d best leave now. I need to track down my partner and catch up with him again. We were in the middle of something when we were waylaid here.”

“Oh? Was it something exciting?” Nana asked curiously, making Lal pause, her eyes roving over Nana with a careful glance.

“…you said you brought people home for the company?”

Nana blinked in bemusement at the non sequitur, and it took at least a whole minute of Lal staring back at her with a blank expression before the words actually sank in. When they did, Nana all but bent over, helpless peals of laughter escaping her.

“Oh no, you thought I- _Oh_ -” Nana giggled some more, ignoring the way Lal’s brows had lowered in irritation.

“It’s a reasonable conclusion to come to,” she ground out, and Nana had to grin up at her.

“Maybe so, but rest assured, I don’t bring home people for such sordid reasons. Your virtue is safe from me!” she quipped, and Lal flat out scowled, looking like she would dearly enjoy the chance to punch Nana in the face.

When Lal didn’t make any move to continue the conversation, Nana set her elbow on the table, pressing her chin into her hand, and peered up at the other woman curiously.

“You didn’t say, though. Was your assignment something interesting? What about your partner?”

“You’re giving me more and more reasons to think that you’re some kind of honey pot the Ferrara hired to waylay us.” Lal replied, snide, and Nana’s eyes went wide with curiosity.

“A honey pot? Me? What does that mean?” she asked gamely, and Lal _groaned,_ sinking back onto her cushion.

“What even _are_ you,” she grunted, staring at Nana from between her fingers, making Nana laugh cheerfully.

“That’s easy – I’m Nana!” she said, beaming.

Lal shot another sullen, disbelieving look her way, and proceeded to push herself back to her feet again.

“You’re crazy, is what you are. I’m leaving.”

“Before taking a shower, though? You were lying in that alley by the trash bags for quite a long time. I could lend you some clothes, and we could put your shirt and trousers in the washing machine-”

“Sure, and leave me stranded here for the night if you don’t have a dryer. And I’m pretty sure you don’t.” Lal countered, and Nana offered her an innocent smile.

“Would it really be so bad to just spend the night before going on to do whatever you have to? It’s quite late, anyway. I could help you get where you need to in the morning.”

Lal grunted, and leaned back on her hands, eying Nana with a hard gaze.

“You were serious when you said you bring strangers home for company, weren’t you.”

Nana stared back at her, and finally let the smile slip away from her lips, leaving her face looking far harsher in its absence. It was why she always made it a point to smile; Nana knew how cold she could look when she didn’t. She’d even gotten into the service industry to practice putting on the perfect mask, because the mist threads couldn’t be the answer to everything. It had come to the point where Nana was a master at her craft; and she knew it showed, because Lal’s shoulders tightened, even if she held the rest of herself at ease.

“Yes, yes I was,” Nana said, lacing her fingers before her on the table. “Like I said, it isn’t anything sordid. I just… like having people at home. I don’t have many friends, and I could use the company. I don’t see why I shouldn’t help people out while I’m at it.”

“That’s a good way to get hurt,” Lal said, mild.

“Oh, maybe. But I never get hurt.” Nana replied, voice deathly serious.

The tone made Lal smile, clearly interested in spite of herself.

“Oh?”

“I know how to take care of myself,” Nana said easily, not elaborating. And Lal didn’t pursue the matter, either, reading the set of Nana’s features well enough to be able to tell that she wouldn’t say any more.

Instead, Lal set her elbows on the table as well, steepling her fingers before her and leaning forward, eyes lit up with an interested gleam.

“So you offer complete strangers your bathroom and your bed, all out of the goodness of your heart.”

Nana smiled at that, the tug of her lips doing nothing to soften her expression.

“You make me sound so saintly when you say that. No, Lal. I offer people the comfort of my home and bed when they have nothing, with the full confidence that they’ll be able to do nothing to hurt me, only out of my own selfishness. I want company, but I don’t want the complications that building social relationships in my day to day life will bring.”

Lal whistled, grinning sharply.

“And so you bring people you don’t know in, give them a place to sleep and food to eat, and kick the out come morning?”

Nana inclined her head, still smiling, and this time, it was Lal who was the one to burst out laughing.

“Fuck, Colonello would _love_ you,” she snickered, the long fingered hand that she pressed to her mouth doing nothing to muffle her laughter.

Nana’s smile broadened just a bit, touched with a hint of actual humor. The sight of Lal snickering was _very_ eye catching.

She didn’t ask who Colonello was. Either that was the MIA partner or someone else – it didn’t matter, really. Either Lal would confirm it or she wouldn’t.

Once Lal stopped laughing, Nana gave her offer of a bath again, and this time, Lal accepted.

*

They fought over the bed, of course.

Nana insisted that Lal should take the bed, seeing as she was the guest. Lal, obviously, refused, with the argument that she wasn’t one of Nana’s usual strays, and that she was perfectly fine taking the futon.

“I think you’ve developed very strange ideas about what my usual ‘strays’ are like,” Nana said, amused, and Lal rolled her eyes, her arms akimbo.

“You’re the one who told me you drag people into your home, feed them and then offer them your bed to sleep in. If that doesn’t give a person strange ideas, I don’t know what does.”

“Mou, you make me sound perfectly sleazy, Lal.” Nana whined, and Lal actually smirked back at her.

Apparently something she’d said had actually _interested_ Lal. Nana wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do in the face of that – there weren’t very many people Nana bothered explaining herself to, and of the ones she _had_ explained herself to, it was a very specific set of people who were _amused_ by it.

She supposed it made sense, seeing as she’d found the other woman _knocked out in an alley._ The distinctly foreign set of her features only added to Nana’s suspicions. Lal didn’t have even the hint of an accent when she was speaking – her Japanese was flawless. But Nana didn’t need accents to tell her that Lal wasn’t the typical _gaijin_ tourist waylaid in a mugging.

“If you’re so against me sleeping on a futon, we _could_ just-”

“Don’t say it,” Lal warned. “Or you’ll have no luck convincing me your habit of taking in strangers isn’t at least a little bit sordid.”

Nana laughed, and sat down on the bed, smiling up at the other woman.

“I don’t usually offer anything of the kind. Despite how I look, I’m not a fool, y’know,” she said, grinning wryly when Lal snorted in response. “But… something tells me you wouldn’t even consider taking advantage of the offer. So I don’t mind, if it makes you feel any better about taking the bed.”

Lal sighed, scrubbing a hand through her hair irately.

“Whether or not I’d take advantage of the situation isn’t the _point,”_ she grumbled, tone acidic. “It’s the fact that you’d offer in the first place.”

“I don’t mind, if that’s what’s bothering you,” Nana said earnestly, making Lal scowl down at her.

“That wasn’t what I meant. Look, is… there something wrong? With you?” Lal asked, direct.

Nana stared up at her for a long moment, before shrugging easily, the corners of her lips tugging up in another smile, this one much emptier than the last.

“Does it make any difference if there is, really?” she replied, and Lal pursed her lips, her expression twisting momentarily before her face went blank.

“No, it doesn’t. Fine, we can share the bed, if that’s what you really want. Happy now?”

Nana’s smile widened, and she tilted her head to the side sweetly.

“Yes.”

*

Lal fell into a still sleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. Nana, pressed up closer to the wall, took a lot longer to fall sleep.

She wasn’t sure _what_ it was about Lal that made her want to hold on. Something about the other woman made all her senses sit up and take notice – and Nana knew to pay attention to those senses. They were what had made it possible for her to learn how to use her threads of mist.

The human mind was the best teacher, Nana had learned over the years. She’d never learned as much from another person as she had learned from listening to herself, and trusting in what her brain told her. It had given her the greatest weapon and company anyone could have asked for. She didn’t really need any companionship outside of the mist.

But the human heart on the other hand…

Nana knew what was wrong with her. She always had.

Loneliness had no real cure, after all.

*

When Lal walked out the front door the next morning, Nana walked right after her, head held high.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW/CW:** Implications of high functioning depression, loneliness, Lal implies that Nana took her in only to coerce her to have sex. Which isn’t true - Nana just wants the company. She’s truthful on that front.
> 
> \---
> 
> Hi there! Hope you enjoyed reading this story. This is Day Seven | Mist Day's entry for KHR Rare Pair Week 2018.
> 
> \---
> 
> Please consider leaving kudos and comments on your way out. You can find me **[@adelmortescryche](https://adelmortescryche.tumblr.com)**. Come by and say hi - I don't bite.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to the very sweet **@OnceaBlueMoon** , whose birthday happened very recently. The words refused to cooperate for this chapter for a while, for all that I have it figured out till the conclusion. 
> 
> Hope you still enjoy it, dear! Happy Birth, again!

Lal could tell something was just the slightest bit off, ever since she’d set foot past Nana’s open doorway after breakfast.

She wasn’t quite sure what exactly it was, but it was setting off her instincts something fierce, enough so that she was beginning to think it would be safer to just take the train to Namimori and reconnect with Colonello once she was out of Tokyo. Sure, Colonello would wind up whining like a baby, as always, but he’d deal. He always did, in situations where they didn’t really have a choice. 

She really fucking wished Luce had picked Reborn for this particular job. Timoteo was supposed to be  _ his  _ charity case, not Lal’s, and  _ not  _ the Arcobaleno’s. Luce had simply laughed, though, and had said it would make sense with time. 

Apparently Sawada Iemitsu was someone Lal would work with in the future. Luce didn’t pull out her old lady cackle unless it was something that really cracked her up. 

So Lal pulled on her big girl boots, and keep going, sticking to crowded areas to make sure she wouldn’t be ambushed again like before, and managed to find a store willing to let her use their phone to put a call through to Colonello’s mobile phone. Lal’s had gotten shorted out in the attack from the Lightning Flame wielding hitman that followed her after she and Colonello had been ambushed.

“Colonello.” he rapped out, when he answered. Clearly stressed, and nowhere near as cheerful as usual.

It was almost touching enough to make Lal smile.

“It’s me,” she replied, brusque, and had the pleasure of hearing her erstwhile student and current mission partner actually choking on the line.

“ _ Lal?”  _ Colonello wheezed out. “You- that- where have you  _ been _ , kora?!”

“Quit whining; my mobile phone shorted out during the fight. I found a place to lie low for the night. Where are you? Did you track down Sawada’s home yet?”

“...I’m still in Tokyo. Looking for you.” he admitted, sounding somewhat sheepish. And with good reason. Lal actually went through a full body twitch with the effort to holding back her urge to yell.

“- _ tch _ . Meet me back where we split up yesterday, dumbass. I saw a dango shop where we could grab a meal after booking tickets to get on the bullet train. We can wait there till we need leave.”

"To avoid another ambush, you mean?” Colonello asked, picking up what she meant immediately. “Are you sure that's a good idea, kora? What if the Ferrara or someone else decides to attack the restaurant?”

"And get into a fight with the local Yakuza? Or the police? I think not.” Lal countered snidely, making him laugh.

"I'll meet you there!" he said, the grin obvious in his voice.

Lal rolled her eyes, and cut the line.

*

She didn't actually figure out she was being followed until Nana gave in and allowed the threads of mist surrounding her to dissipate. Anyone else in the little dango shop Lal had selected for lunch would simply assume that Nana had always been there. Lal, however could tell immediately that Nana  _ really hadn't been there a second ago. _

Nana, for her part, simply smiled sweetly, even in the face of the skewer that had halted a millimeter from her throat.

“You're… following me. Why are you following me?” Lal demanded, once she actually registered who it was that had appeared out of thin air. Not to mention… “And… you're… a  _ Mist _ ?”

Lal felt irritation build in her veins. Every Mist wielder she'd met till date had proven to be unbearable, and their motives as unreliable as their flame type. Sure, Viper could be a good partner to work with, at least once they put aside their greed for a few moments, but Lal knew for a fact that it was best to watch her back when working with them. All the Arcobaleno knew that - even Luce with her bleeding heart.

She convinced herself to lower the skewer. Murder in a restaurant wasn't her style. Possibly Reborn's, but  _ not _ hers. 

Nana bit off one of the dango on her own skewer, munched and swallowed, all while keeping a pleasant smile on her face. Lal was reluctantly amused, in spite of herself. If nothing else, whomever had picked the girl had at least picked someone worth facing off against. Most honey traps were less engaging, once they stopped with seduction techniques.

So Lal turned back to her meal. It wasn't like either of them were going anywhere. And Nana could have poisoned her back at the apartment, if that had been her game.

...Verde always did say that Lal was too straight forward for the mafia. But Lal would honestly rather face up to the threats head on. Needless stealth wasn't her style, not unless she had no choice but to go underground.

Nana took another pointed bite, and Lal sighed, lifting up her cup of tea, swirling it about before taking a long draught. 

“You’re giving me very few reasons to not assume that you’re a honey pot. Or an assassin.” Lal commented, once the soothing warmth of the tea had done its work.

“...would you believe me if I said that I was just bored?” Nana offered, smile not budging at all.

Lal had to shoot her a narrow eyed look for that. If nothing else, it made the smile of Nana’s face tilt wryly.

“I honestly don’t do things like this,” Nana confessed, after a long moment of silence.

Lal allowed her to speak, nursing her tea. She was tempted to see if she could signal Colonello in some way, to either get the drop on Nana before she noticed him or to simply stay away so he could take her out later, but she was willing to wait Nana out in the meantime. Colonello was no fool; he would be able to tell when Lal was biding her time. And now that Nana wasn’t making any effort to hide from her senses, Lal could easily tell that there was something different about the girl. She set off at least some of the instincts Lal had built up in her long career; the Mafia instincts rather than the COMSUBIN instincts. 

Which was a shame. Lal liked being able to take care of a problem directly, when she could.

But this explained why she’d been feeling wary ever since she’d left the girl’s house. It was violating, but in a way that had become uncomfortably familiar once she’d started working more often with the Italian Underworld. Fucking Mists.

Nana seemed completely oblivious to the discomfort simmering sullenly in Lal’s gut. She supposed it was for the best. The less the girl registered her discomfort, the more likely they were to get the drop on her. Lal couldn’t lead any of Vongola’s enemies to Namimori - not when Vongola Nono had decided he wanted to hear more about Sawada Hidetada’s son.

“There you are!” said a new, unexpected voice. Lal watched, incredulous, as Colonello casually dropped into the empty chair opposite her, not even looking at Nana. “Took me less time than I thought it would, to get here. Did you at least order enough tea for me as well?”

“He can’t see me,” Nana confirmed mildly. “Is this your missing partner, then?”

Lal’s hand tightened around her teacup, enough so that the bones of her fingers and knuckles creaked audibly. Colonello noticed her shift in attitude, and stiffened right away, his eyes sharpening and shifting to the seat beside her, not needing any other cues. Lal supposed it was nice of Nana, to not place an illusion over her as well.

But Nana was surveying the change in Colonello with an interested gleam in her gaze, looking almost childlike with the glee that spread across her face.

“Oh! He can tell the difference! Not many of the people I’ve run into can do that; maybe some of the yakuza I had to avoid or fend off, but no one else. I knew it was a good idea to come after you!”

“Drop it. Now.” Lal bit out, and Nana shot a confused glance at her, lips twisting in a disappointed moue. But she did as she was bid, wriggling her fingers just a bit, and Colonello’s hands jerked on the tabletop, eyes darting towards her immediately. 

“Lal?” he asked warily. 

_ Assassin?  _ Was what he didn’t say. Not out loud, at least. But Lal could hear the question in every line of his body language. She shifted her head to the side, in the faintest shake she could manage. It would be enough to let him know that Lal didn’t have an answer for him. Yet.

“Hi, I’m Nana! Pleased to meet you!” Nana said brightly, bowing over her plate. Colonello blinked at her, bewildered, but he politely nodded back.

“Colonello,” he said. “Pleasure.”

Something about his tone had Lal imagining him shrieking like a little girl, going,  _ mayday mayday how the fuck do I react now _ . It made her shoulders relax, enough to wave down a hostess and ask for another tea cup, at the very least.

“I took cover in an alley after I managed to evade my tail, yesterday. Passed out, and Nana took me back home. Gave me dinner and a place to stay last night.” Lal explained.

Colonello’s brows shot up.

“I did  _ not _ know she was a Mist,” Lal continued, irate. “Nor did I know she planned on following me to our rendezvous. Nana?”

“I did say I was bored.” Nana said. 

_ Yeah-huh.  _ Said Colonello’s expression, when he glanced back at Lal, incredulous.  _ Is this girl for real, kora? _

Lal rolled her eyes.  _ Maybe. Maybe not. _

Colonello blinked some more, then turned to Nana, lips spreading in a sweet smile. Lal liked to call that one the Liar McLiarson smile. Because it  _ lied.  _ And seduced people in a way completely opposite to Reborn’s brand of smoky suaveness. Her student really had grown up well.

“It was really nice of you to take Lal in though, kora! Was she really badly hurt?”

“No, I think she was just exhausted,” Nana replied, smiling back just as sweetly. “She stayed passed out for a good long while, and after having dinner, she slept real soundly all over again.”

Lal’s eyes hurt just watching at them beam at each other. 

Colonello quickly ordered something for himself, and then proceeded to spend the rest of his meal gently coaxing Nana into a free flowing conversation, where he prodded her for details about her life, and tried to figure out why she’d taken Lal in at all. Lal kept her mouth shut, and focused on shoveling food and tea into her mouth. She wasn’t the honey pot in their partnership, after all,  _ Colonello  _ was. If anyone knew how to handle a honey pot, it would be him.

The conversation continued right up to their finishing their meal and leaving the restaurant - at which point Colonello easily nudged Nana towards an alleyway and, once she and Lal were out of sight of the main street, stood guard, while Lal shoved Nana face first into a wall.

“Talk.” she barked, while Nana yelped. “Who sent you?”

“I  _ told  _ you, no one!” Nana snapped back, struggling in place. “I’m just bored! Let me go!”

“Getting a little loud, boss,” Colonello called over his shoulder, and Lal tightened her grip in Nana’s hair.

“You really were too good to be true.” she bit out, and Nana laughed, the sound harsh and grating, ripping its way out of her throat.

“You seemed so free, when I spoke with you,” Nana gasped. “I couldn’t help but want to follow. Find some way to wipe my memory or drop me dead right here, Lal Mirch. Or I’ll just find some way to keep coming after you.” 

Lal stared at the back of her head, a little horrified. Because, damn her, Lal could actually tell that she was speaking the truth this time. The girl  _ had  _ seemed a little unhinged, and lonely, but Lal hadn’t expected her to go and imprint herself on Lal after a single night spent together. Just chatting and  _ sleeping,  _ for crying out loud!

“Lal?” Colonello asked, voice low, and Lal gritted her teeth, tempted to just slam Nana’s face into the wall and be done with it. But she controlled the urge, and stepped away.

Nana turned around warily, once she was certain that Lal wouldn’t actually follow through on her threats of violence. Lal, for her part, found herself staring at Nana’s busted lip and scratched up forehead and cheeks, and felt terribly old.

“You can’t come with us. We’re on a mission.” Lal said, and Colonello jerked around, coming into the alley after them. His face could have been hewn from stone, but his eyes were glittering inquisitively.

“She’s coming with us?” he asked, and Lal reached up to swat the back of his head, making him yelp.

“No she’s not.” she replied. “We’re leaving her here and going. Now.”

“Yes she is,” Nana corrected, voice sharp. “Coming with you, I mean. Can’t I just stay with you until you have to leave? I promise I won’t get in your way. I’ll even weave the threads so that no one will bother you again until you finish your mission!”

The two of them stared at her, surprised. Nana stared right back, hands fisted on either side, and waited for a response.

“...gotta admit, boss, that’s tempting. The Ferrara haven’t been all that hard to avoid, but the going could get tough if the Ricci get involved. Or their Hands.”

“Fuck the Ricci and their Hands with a rusty polearm.” Lal growled back, making Nana give a startled giggle. Colonello snorted, his lips spreading in a wide grin.

“Kinky~” he offered, brows wriggling beneath his headband, and Lal groaned, elbowing him in the side.

“Really, Colonello? At least  _ try  _ to act like you’re older than fifteen.”

“Oh come on. I crossed my teens  _ ages  _ ago. Quit calling me out in front of new blood, kora!”

Lal shoved him a little harder for that, because Nana most definitely wasn’t ‘new blood’. 

She wasn’t one of them. Not a soldier, mercenary or hitman. She was just a girl, if a lonely one, and she was following after them because she clearly had no sense of self preservation.  If Lal could have her way, she would march Nana right back to her empty apartment, and make sure that she had no way to follow them back out.

Damnit, this wasn’t supposed to happen to her. She wasn’t  _ Reborn.  _ Lonely little girls weren’t supposed to take one look at her and decide that they wanted to pledge their future to her.

Sure, Nana wasn’t putting it quite like that, but Lal was no fool. She should have walked out the night before, when Nana had become more fond and familiar as the evening wore on. It wasn’t uncomfortable; that was the worst part. Lal  _ knew  _ she was a Mist, and was perfectly capable of creating emotions and connections where there were none. But she’d chosen to entreat them instead. Simply asking them for a chance to stay, and prove herself.

It left Lal sick to the gut.

“Let’s go,” she barked, and turned around and marched off towards Tokyo Station. 

She had very few other options, anyway. Fon would probably laugh quietly at her, and claim that she’d grown soft.  That taking on a student had Suited Her Well. Like Lal gave a flying fuck, either way. She just didn’t feel like breaking Nana’s pretty little neck and leaving her to rot in a mouldering alleyway.

Not when she'd taken the trouble to carry Lal out of one of her own free will.

“We should be able to get you a ticket too." Colonello said cheerily behind her, already well versed in Lal's body language. 

“Yay!" Nana declared, following along in his wake.

Lal swallowed every snide remark she could think of making, and kept walking.

*

“So wait, the Clam Uncle wants you to go pick up the son of one of his men? But you just said you're not with the Clam Mafia. Wouldn't it make more sense to send someone from among his people?”

Lal had to fight an uphill battle to ignore the conversation taking place beside her. Colonello had been trying to break down their mission into simple terms so Nana would have an easier time understanding what was going on. And an easier time hiding them from any interested parties, too. But when Nana had asked what ‘vongola’ meant, and received her answer, Nana promptly dubbed the Vongola Nono 'clam uncle’, and refused to call him anything else ever since.

Colonello looked like he wanted to laugh until he went hoarse. He kept shooting Lal little looks with wide eyes, and bright pink spots high on his cheeks, the unspoken 'can you believe this girl, kora!’ audible even without him saying anything. And Lal had to keep looking away. She'd been right on the money when she'd said that Colonello would adore Nana from the moment he met her.

“Makes more sense to send people he hired, kora. We're unbiased, that way. See, Sawada might be one of the Nono's loyal soldiers, but his kid's of the same blood as him - and they belong to a completely different hereditary line in the Vongola. And even if Sawada's loyal, his brat might decide that he wants the glory that goes with the throne of a Mafia Don. And the Vongola's a big Famiglia - even Nono can't be sure that there aren't some people looking to get rid of Nono's line, descended from the Secundo, and place Sawada's brat on the throne as a patsy.”

“Wow, that's complicated. I'm not sure whom to feel sorry for - the Clam Uncle or Sawada Junior." Nana declared, and Colonello started snickering helplessly again.

“So, you're going there to scope him out? And get rid of him if he's dangerous to the Clam Uncle?”

Colonello's snickers stopped abruptly, and Lal glanced back at them. There it was again, the edge she'd seen in Nana the night before. For all that she smiled prettily and seemed like an airheaded fool, there was something sharp about Nana; almost like shattered  glass. 

Colonello simply seemed amused, though. And sharply interested. Again, unsurprisingly. Nana being just a little bit broken would probably just endear her to Colonello even more.

“That's confidential." Lal snapped, before Colonello could say anything. He shot her a wounded look, but Lal stared him down until he gave a low laugh.

“What she said. Sorry, Nana."

Nana pursed her lips, but she subsided with a sigh.

"Okay. It  _ is  _ your mission. I'll just make sure that no one follows us.”

"Did anyone try? So far?” Colonello asked curiously.

Nana hummed thoughtfully, her head tilting to the side. Lal turned her attention to the girl, waiting silently. She was, admittedly, curious as well. Because whatever it was that Nana was doing to hide them, it messed with Lal's senses too.

“Yeah, actually. There were people waiting for us near the station, and a little ways from the dango shop. They'd been coming closer when we left the alleyway - I just sent them off in another direction.”

Lal continued to stare at her, because that was unexpected. She was beginning to get the sinking feeling that Nana might just be gifted enough with her Mist Flames to rival  _ Viper.  _ Because Viper was the only other Mist she'd heard speaking so flippantly about giving enemies the run around with illusions. Sure, Nana didn't seem nearly as vindictive, but she was matter of fact enough about what she did to make up for it.

...damnit, she wasn't supposed to feel enchanted by a broken little girl that had decided to follow her around. This was like Colonello all over again. Reborn would _ laugh  _ at her. So would Fon.  _ And Luce. _

“Great!" Colonello cheered. “If you kept them from figuring out which train we got on, we should be free to move until we reach our destination.”

"Which you  _ still  _ haven't shared." Nana grumbled, and Lal found herself rolling her eyes. She glanced out the window again, before Nana could realize that she'd reacted.

“Well. Even if you're hiding us, who knows if there are any bugs? Lal and I know where we need to go, so we don't have to say it out loud. Just stick with us and you'll be fine.”

"Or don't, and you'll still be fine.” Lal cut in, snide, and  _ both _ of them turned to shoot her a wounded look apiece.

“Don't worry, Nana, we'll take you to meet Hidetada's brat. It'll be fun!” Colonello consoled, patting Nana's knee, making her beam at him. Lal grunted in disgust, and pushed herself to her feet.

“I'm taking a walk. You two can sit and sparkle at each other, for all I care. I'll be back.”

Nana's eyes widened, visibly panicky, and for a sinking moment, Lal thought she'd actually get up and ask to come along. But Colonello got a firm grip around her fingers before she could,  staring her down with a patient expression until the anxiety in her gaze subsided, and she settled back in her seat.

“Okay!" She chirped, like nothing had happened. “Have fun! We'll wait for you here." Lal stared at her, incredulous, but forced herself to move when Colonello cleared his throat pointedly.

“Right. Sure. Later." Lal blurted, and got away from there as fast as her feet could take her.

*

Lal was on the verge of calling Reborn or Luce for advice. Or even  _ Skull.  _ Because she  _ really  _ wasn't equipped to deal with this kind of situation. Sure, Colonello was helping, but that was because Colonello was just as twisted up inside and about as firmly imprinted on her as Nana seemed to be heading towards.

The worst part, though, was that Lal… still didn't mind the situation. Even if it made her feel like she was walking on eggshells. Nana was sensible, for all that she was a little broken inside. And seemed perfectly capable of taking care of herself, which was something Lal could respect. 

Sure, was also capable of making some spectacularly terrible life decisions. The most recent  of which seemed be her willingly following a pair of mercenaries to another town without thinking too hard about where they were going or what they were doing. But Lal was a soldier who'd decided to stay in the life even after retiring, to the point that she was willingly working with people she used to fight against on a regular basis - she had very little room left  to judge other people on their bad life decisions. And Colonello had walked out right after her when she'd left COMSUBIN, so really, he was just as ill equipped to judge Nana on anything.

...maybe Lal was just uneasy. Because she'd seen where relationships like this led, and she didn't want to be held responsible for staining another innocent life with the blood and death of the Mafia. It was bad enough that Colonello had clung to her shadow, but Colonello had at least started out as a fellow soldier. Nana was just a lonely teenager on the cusp of being a lonely adult. She would be safer if she just… stayed away.

But Lal wasn't nice enough to force people to walk away. She was firmly of the opinion that you had to clean your own shit if you made a mess. So she'd voiced her token disapproval, and left it at that.

They still had time. They could simply take Nana to Namimori, then drag her back to Tokyo, and bid her farewell at the gates of Haneda. And all would be well.

...Lal wished she could actually believe that. But no. It would eat at her, inside, if Nana didn't give up.. She knew that.  _ Colonello  _ knew that. The only one who was still oblivious was Nana.

That, or she was just as selfish as the rest of them. 

Lal wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

*

The Sawada Family home, when they pulled up in front of it, was perfectly unassuming. Western style, with a garden and walls and a gate. Lal supposed someone in the family had had the sense to try and protect themselves against intruders. 

It wouldn't have been Hidetada, not when he was the idiot who'd decided to turn his back on everything the Vongola Primo had stood for and had walked right back into the fold of the Mafia.

...Nana was staring at the house with narrow eyes that glinted with hints of indigo Flames. A clear sign that she was particularly gifted, if Lal had somehow been blind and deaf enough to have missed all of the previous signs that pointed to that fact.

“What is it? Do you sense something, kora?" Colonello asked, glancing around them with a sharp gaze.

“There's someone dangerous in that house." Nana replied. "I'm not sure if I like the way it feels or not.”

Lal blinked at that, and focused on the house herself. Now that she was actually paying attention, she could feel the Sawada brat's Sky Flame resonance even from outside. Her connection to Luce had apparently been enough to make her miss that until Nana had brought it up.

Colonello breathed in deeply, and let it go.

“Yeah, I can feel that. It's okay, kora. Lal should be able to shield us from whatever the brat's putting out.”

“Such confidence. I'm touched.” Lal drawled, and Nana lost the suspicious expression, instead turning to her with an adoring smile and threading an arm around Lal's, locking their elbows together.

“Lal  _ would  _ protect us, wouldn't she."

“Oh yeah." Colonello agreed, and they both beamed at each other again. Lal swore it had only gotten worse since she'd left them alone together while she went on her walk.

“Enough," she griped. “Come on."

They neatly got the gate open and strolled into the garden. It was overrun and wild; an absolute mess of a place that hadn't been cared for in years, it seemed. They had to pick their way through the long grass to reach the front door. Nana clung to her for balance, peering around herself with a bemused expression. Colonello was humming cheerfully under his breath.

Lal had barely stepped onto the porch when the door swung open with a bang, and a shotgun was leveled in her face.

“Back. Off. Now.” Hissed the boy on the other side of the door, black hair wild around his face and a sneer pasted firmly on his lips. “I won't ask again."

...well. So much for any hope of having an easy chat with the Sawada brat. Apparently he was just as hair triggered as his dear old dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW/CW for the first chapter still hold good.** High functioning Depression, Guilt, and Lal being very sure that Nana is making some terrible decisions with her life, but not making excessive effort to do anything about it.
> 
> \---
> 
> Different reasons for taking this long. KHR needed a break in my head, apparently, and FFXV fit in exceptionally well, thanks to certain enablers _who know who they are_. My wrists continue to baffle orthopedics. And my grandma passed away roughly two weeks ago.
> 
> Anyway, that's history. Let's see if this fic deigns to get completed before NaNo is done.
> 
> \---
> 
> Consider leaving comments and kudos on your way out! You can find me **[@adelmortescryche](https://adelmortescryche.tumblr.com/)** on Tumblr or **[AdelMortescryche](https://www.pillowfort.io/AdelMortescryche)** on Pillowfort. Cheers.


End file.
